Senior Russian officials celebrated Donald Trump's election victory as a geopolitical win for Moscow, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing U.S. officials who said intercepted communications showed the Russians congratulating themselves on the outcome.

The ebullient reaction among high-ranking Russian officials - including some who U.S. officials believe had knowledge of the country's cyber campaign to interfere in the U.S. election - contributed to the U.S. intelligence community's assessment that Moscow's efforts were aimed at least in part at helping Trump win the White House, the Post reported.